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Almond Joy by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers

Cocktails With Writers is a spring feature, but I figure it’s spring somewhere, if not here in New Jersey.Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, the author of three volumes of poetry, including Red Clay Suite, contributed the recipe. Here’s what she says about it:

“I’m a fan of anything with coconut in it (cookies, candy, granola, etc.), and I was thrilled to discover coconut rum–the authentic kind, not the artificially flavored mess–at a Caribbean friend’s house about five years ago. I thought it was a new thing, but it turned out I was the last to know. I’m not too sophisticated about alcoholic drinks; I drank Mad Dog 20/20 back in college if that gives you any indication. Anyway, I wondered if there was a drink that tasted like an Almond Joy (the ultimate candy), so I found this recipe. For those who like their drinks a little stronger, add a little bit more rum (to taste), and for coconut fans like me, add a tablespoon of all-natural unsweetened coconut cream to the drink in the mixing process (although that will cut the sweetness a bit); you can find real coconut cream at health food stores, which in small cities like mine are usually across town from those naughty liquor stores.”

Almond Joy Cocktail

1/2 oz high-end coconut rum

1 oz amaretto almond liqueur

1 oz creme de cacao

2 oz cream

ice
Mix together all the liquid ingredients. Then pour over ice into a highball glass. You can garnish with shredded coconut and chocolate bar shavings if you want to get all fancy with it.

“Honorée Jeffers leads with her ear and follows with her rigorous intellect, then adds an emotional depth and fearlessness that make her poems uniquely powerful. This brilliant third book is a thinking woman’s blues that continues to challenge, delight, and terrify.”—Elizabeth Alexander